ICCI Urges Oyo Govt On SMEs

The President of  Ibadan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Mr  Mike Fowowe, CCI),  has urged the Oyo State Government to provide the  infrastructure  required to address the challenges facing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
Fowowe told newsmen in Ibadan that  Governor  Abiola Ajimobi   must take necessary steps to boost the operations of  SMEs.
He said: “The Oyo State Government should urgently work  on building of  industrial clusters parks, particularly on  Ibadan Circular Road as a corollary to SMEs development.”
He  identified power outage, difficulty to access land as well as poor roads as some of the challenges facing  SMEs.
“For instance, if there is no power supply, cottage industry owners would take to generators as an alternative source.
“ Even at that, he would have to buy petrol or diesel at expensive rates,’’ he said.
Fowowe also canvassed  the creation of  industrial estates as obtainable in  China and India, saying  investors  would enjoy economics of scale.
He said, “ The creation  of industrial parks would not only help to solve the problem of land confronting SMEs operators, it will also address the issue of   poor  power supply since government could intervene in  the process.’’
He urged  the state government to partner local councils in  providing  good   roads at the grassroots level in order to address  some of the  challenges facing SMEs.
The ICCI  boss stated that the development of  cottage industries was imperative as the solution to the growing rate of  unemployment.
“ Only two per cent of the labour force are gainfully employed with the rest taking solace in self- sustenance,’’ he added.